Ocean Twp. schools chief disappointed with close call

Ocean Twp. schools chief disappointed with close call
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

OCEAN TOWNSHIP — Ocean Township School District Superintendent Thomas Pagano said last week that he was disappointed that the budget failed by just six votes.

“To lose our budget by a six-vote margin was extremely disheartening,” Pagano said. “To come so close and not be able to push it over the top is just an incredibly disappointing thing.”

Pagano said the vote from the April 20 election for the $69.5 million budget will be certified by the county this week and that he believes all absentee ballots have been counted.

Pagano said the possibility of the budget being passed during certification would be a “miracle.”

“The official certification of the results won’t occur until next week,” he said. “Obviously, I am hoping against hope that a miracle may occur.”

Pagano said the district will look into challenging the vote, should the unofficial results hold up.

“That is a decision to be a joint decision with the Board of Education, myself and the school’s business administrator,” he said. “We will have to see where we go.”

The budget passed in Ocean Township by a 2,191 to 2,143 margin but failed in Loch Arbour, which is a sending district, by a 65 to 11 margin.

Pagano said last year’s budget was also defeated after passing in Ocean Township.

“Last year our budget lost by 22 votes, and it was defeated by a similarly very wide margin over in Loch Arbor,” he said. “That is because of the very unprecedented tax increase.”

Pagano said he understands the thought process from Loch Arbour residents, who had their taxes skyrocket last year when the state changed its appropriation formula.

“I cannot in good conscience have any ill will toward Loch Arbor for the way they voted,” he said. “The folks over there are very hard-working, decent people who support our schools and want to support our schools.

“They have to put self-preservation first.”

Pagano explained what would happen next for the budget.

“The budget now goes to the two municipalities,” he said. “They have to work together and agree to an amount that we have to cut by May 19.”

At a previous meeting, the Board of Education presented the public with a list of cuts, including 39 staff positions, administrative pay freezes, and no additional funding for capital projects and technology equipment.

The budget called for a $54.8 million tax levy, after the district lost nearly $5.5 million in state aid the last two years.

If the budget had been approved, Ocean Township residents would have seen an increase of 1.3 percent in the tax rate, resulting in a $64.03 increase for a home valued at the town’s average of $406,000. The decrease in average value is due to the re-evaluation recently completed by the township.

Because of the state-mandated change in the apportionment for the sending town of Loch Arbour, residents with a home valued at the village average of $1.4 million would have seen a tax increase of $5,798 this year.

Pagano said the Ocean Township vote is indicative of many of the budget votes across the state.

“This was a watershed year for school budget elections for the entire state of New Jersey,” he said. “That so many of them were defeated certainly reflects the fiscal crisis in the state of New Jersey.”

Voters also re-elected incumbents Sean Moore and Angela Finch to three-year seats on the Board of Education. Sylvia Sylvia, who was the leading vote getter, won a three-year seat, and Joseph Hadden won a one-year unexpired term.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.